Apparatus for filling and closing capillary containers



W. GOODCHILD APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CLOSING CAPILLARY CONTAINERS Filed- June 1, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR I V/IL 7:7? GOOZIC/f/Lfl BY edHQ ZSEAK ATTORNEY Dec. 1,517,780

W. GQOFIECZHILD APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CLOSING GAPILLARY CONTAINERS Filed June 1, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 [Z W Z65;-

Dec. 2, 1924. 1,517,780

w. GOODCHILD APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CLOSING CAPILLARY CONTAINERS Filed June 1, 1921 5 sheets-sheet an. miHw inn"? "ll I INVENTOR @HMQ ATTORNEY IV/91 rfir'oopm/w Patented Dec. 2 1924.

UNITED-STATES PA N FFICE WALTER eooDoHrLn, E OAKLAND, NEW JERSEY, assrenon 'ro- NIPS', INCORPO- RATED, or HonoKaN, NEW JERSEY, A oon'rona'rronor new JERSEY.

APPARATUS roa FILLING AND CLOSING cArILLAnr oon'ramnas.

Applicationfiled. June 1, 1921. Serial No. 474,236.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, TALTER GooncHILn, acitizen of the United States,- and arcsident of Oakland, in the countyv of Bergen and State of NGWJQ I'SGy lIaVB inventedv a new and useful Apparatus for Filling and Closing Capillary Containers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to the filling and sealing of containers. primarily those of restricted capacity, for holding various liquids, such as perfumes, toils, chemicals, inedicaments, etc.

i The apparatus herein described is adapted particularly, though not exclusively, to packaging delicate and costly perfumes; the containers for the perfumes being capillary tubes, which are to bebroken open by severing or snapping their opposite extremities when it is desired to use the contents- These tubes when filled contain a. quanity of perfume usually sufficient for one application, and are hermetically sealed so that wastage from leaking or evaporation is impossible.

The perfumes or other goods are therefore fresh and pure until released by unsealing the ends of the receptacles containing the same. Q

The primary object of theinventionis to provide means of a simplified nature for expeditiously filling; and sealing the receptacles or capillary tubes, whereby large quantities of them may be filledand closed in a very short time, the same permitting either or both of the operators hands to be used, practically eliminating loss of the liquid by evaporation inthe filling and sealing process, and enabling. the apparatus to be so arranged, assembled and positioned that space is greatly'economized, and duplicates or a number of such apparatus can be conoined and comfortably located in a comparatively small apartment. r

A further object of the invention isto supply a filling and sealing apparatus of such nature that little or no skill is required on the part of the operator in carrying out the process successfully,and' through which with little practice the operator may easily and with less efl'ortaccomplish more and better results than has been possible with apparatus heretofore proposed and used for similar purposes.

A further ob ect resides in producing an apparatus of the character and for the purposes mentioned which has its filling and sealing adjuncts, such as-air'a'nd gas jets, severally supplied froma single source common to jets of similar type, and by means of which, if desired, two or more units composing the apparatus may jointly be operated from the same sources. Other objects and advantages of the invention willin part be obvious and in part be' more fully brought out in the following description.

The invention consists in the novel improvements, parts, combinations, and features of construction herein described and illustrated.- I i i In the accompanying drawings is shown a practical einbodimentof the invention, the same; serving to explain its principles, in connection with the descriptive matter hereinaftercontained. a i I In the said drawings, Figure l is a plan viewof a part of the apparatus where the tubes are filledand closed at one end; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially on-the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view" taken along the irregular line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is atop plan View showing a slight modification of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 3; Fig. 5' is asectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a detail section taken through a combined tube and liquid holder shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 I

is a plan view showing another part'of the apparatus whichis by preference employed in finally sealing the filledtubes; Fig. 8 is afvertical section taken substantially on the irregularline 88 of Fig. 7 and Fig; 9 is a front view of the middle portionof the structure shown in the latter-named figure.

The containers'for the perfume or'other liquid are conveniently made from glass tub ing, drawn down to a. verylight caliber, the central portionof the length of each tube being. preferably of greater transverse dimension than the end portions thereof to provide capillary terminals only. [It will be understood, therefore, that the openings through the restricted end portions *of the several tubeS 'are exceedingly small. These tubes are designated by the reference numeral 10 in the various figures of the drawings.

1 1 theliquid in the receptacle, it is obvious that the air draft at itsupper end operates to re- I hecapillary tubes aforesaid are brought.

to the'apparatus; open at bothends, and quantities of them are placed transversely in trays 11, upon a shelf 12, supported from a stand 13, setv on a table. 14so as to 'be in reach of an operator seatedin front. Extending upwardly from the table, slightly in advance of the trays, is a pipe 15, with a nozzle 16, adapted ,to deliver a jet of air, as from a blow-pipe, the same being supplied from acompressed-air tank, indicated at 17 in Fig. 3. The nozzle :16 discharges the air in a substantially, vertical direction above the table. On one-or both sides of thispipe are receptacles 18, containing the liquid to be forced or drawn into the tubes.

In thepreferred embodiment of the inventionthereceptacles 18 are covered as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, but their tops or lids 19 are apertured, as at 20, near the inner end of each, the a ertures beingsmall and only large enoug to receive. and accommodate the end of a tube to befilled. The outer edgesalso ofthe apertures 20 are notched,

as at 21, .the notches being substantially equal to the transverse width of therestricted or capillary ends of the tubes. The

I nozzle '16 of the air-pipe is formed with similar notches'22, adapted toreceive the upper ends 0f the;tubes and to steady the same while the filling takes place. it It will be noted that the notches 21 and 22, respectlvely provided in the receptacle coverand pipe nozzle, act .asa guide in the filling operation, and enable the operator to placethe empty tubes quickly in osition for filling.- It is to be observed furt er that the air nozzle and liquid. receptacle are such distances apart that a tube, when resting in the receptacle ian-dlimited in movement bythe outer edge of the openingin the cover thereof, is given aninclination such as will bring its u per end' into the zone of the air issuin fiom the nozzle, as clearly indicated in T ig. 2. With thelower end of the tube immersed in duce the atmospheric pressure in the tube to such degree that the llquid will flow up into thesame. It is likewiseapp-arent that with but a' moderate. air pressure at the nozzle,

1 the liquid: from the receptacle will very quickly enter the tube, and the filling operation .is promptly performed. It is only required, therefore, to keep atube in its inclinedposition for an instant; and by reason of the arrangement, of receptacles 18 on both sides of; the air-pipe '15, the operator may use both hands in carrying out the filling of the tubes. I V

Immediately in advance of the pipe 15 is a. burner 25, providing a flame jet 26, and supplied with gaseous fuel by suitable conduits, as 27, projecting upwardly from under the standl3. The flame from this burner edges of the plates are provided, for convenience, with aligned notches or recesses, indicated at 29, to receive the restricted end portions of the tubes. After a tube has been filled, one end thereof is placed transversely of the notch in either plate. in the ath of the flame jet 26, and heldthere su ciently long for the glass to fuse and thus seal the tube end. By reason of the thinness of the glass at this point, fusion takes place immediately.

"The filled tubes, each with one end sealer are deposited in open-ended receivers 31, lengthwise thereof, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings. A large number of such tubes, sealed only at one end, may be collected in these receivers, before they need be closed at the other end.

Figs. 4 to 6 of the drawings disclose a. slight modification of the filling and initial sealing part of the apparatus, wherein a pair of air nozzles 34, 35, connected with the pipe 15 by a Y-fitting 36 and intermediate branch pipes 37, are employed, one for each hand of the operator. In this instance, the empty tubes and the liquid are placed in holders 40, 41, common to both. By preference, these holders are convergently arra ed, with their forward ends turned inward y at an angle from the front edge of the shelf 12, through which the nozzles 34, 35 project. The forward ends of the holders may be indented, as at 42, 43, to take around and partly embrace the adjoining nozzles. The empty tubes are-intended to occupy approximatelv two-thirds of eachholder, at the rear thereof. in theforms shown in Figs. 4. 5 and 6. The remaining forward portions of the holders are shaped so as to provide wells 44, 45. into which is poured the liquid wherewith the tubes are to be filled. These wells are partly covered by plates 46, 47, which leave openings or slots 48, 49 along their outer sides. permitting insertion of the lower ends of the tubes that are to be immersed in the liquid. The slots or openings, it-will be observed, are situated on the sides of the holders remote from the upstanding nozzles 34, 35. The sides of the holders that are nearest to the nozzles are curved up toward the latter, as at 50. Fig. 5. The nozzles themselves are curved to correspond. as at 52, and formed also with an abutment 53, against which the'upper end of a tube maybe brought to bear for the filling operation. It will be perceived that the operator can rest this. end of the tube upon the curved side of the holder to slide it into filling position. and by holding the tube downwardly inclined, its lower end will naturally be carried forward and led into the opening, 48 or l9, of the well that contains the perfume or other filling substance.

Curved guards 56, 57, set on edge'upon the shelf 12,1111 placed forwardly of the pair of nozzles 34, above described, the same'being used, in the form of the apparatus represented by Figs. 4 to 6, as substitutes for the straight guards 28, before mentioned and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. Like the latter, the guards 56, 57 are positioned on opposite sides of the flame jet 26 of the burner 25,"transversely of the shelf, in the middle forward portion thereof. The front halves of the guards last named are preferably made straight and parallel one to the a other, as shown, but their rear halves are deflected outward so as to reach the upper ends of the paired nozzles. The tubes that have been filled with perfume can therefore be slid directly from the nozzles to and along the upper edges of these guards, in

such a manner that one of their capillary ends will be brought into the fiame'and sealed immediately after the filling has been effected. Depressions, as 59, are provided in the said upper edges of the curved guards, to receive and temporarily retain the tube ends that are being sealed. These depressions correspond to the notches-29 in the straight guards28, and perform the same ofiice. Both the curved and the straight guards, it will be noted, indicate where the open-ended receivers 31 may be conveniently as well as readily located, to facilitate and expedite the depositing therein of the filled tubes subsequently to sealing the same at one of their capillary extremities.

In Figures 7, 8 and 9, there is shown another part of the apparatus, where the final sealing of the filled tubes may be effected conveniently as well as rapidly. This other part of the apparatus could. 'be dispensed with, and the necessary elements thereof incorporated in the first part hereinbefore described whereby the filling and initial seal ing are carried out, but in practice it is deemed preferable to keep these parts separate, though closely associated.

As illustrated in the latter-named views, the table 14 carries a second stand 62, with another pair of guards 63, 64, set edgewise in spaced relationthereon, between which is 65, a jet of flame emitted by a burner 66. The latter is supplied with gaseous fuel, from the source previously referred to, by means of pipes, as 67, 68, passing under the stand and extending upwardly thereabove near the front of the table. A

small plate 69 is laid across the upper ends of the pair of guards, in position to be heated by the flame, directed under it, as suggested in Fig. 7. The hot plate 69, thus lying in the path of the flame .from the burner 66, is used for preheating the end of the filled tube which is the second or last to be sealed. The preheating causes expansion .of the liquid in the restricted open portion of the tube and relieves it of any surplus filling that might interfere with the final sealing operation. 3

Subsequently to 1 being preheated, each tube-is-advanced toward the operator, so that the capillary end thereof, still open. may be rested in either one of a pair of aligned notches 70, 71, provided at the upper edges of theguards 63, 64. There, the outer extremity of the preheated part of the tube is exposed directly to the flame, while the adjoining restricted tube portion is subjected to a'cooling medium, such for instance as a current or blast ofcold air, issuing from pipes 72, 73, and preferably supplied through a series of'branch-pipes as 74. con-. nected with the air-tank 17 shown in Fig. 3 and previously referred to herein. It will be noted that the pipes 72, 73 are directed upwardly and obliquely toward the notched 'portionsof the guards 63, 64:. Each one of sists in properly positioning the same for final sealing.

The combined action of the flame from the burner 66 and of the cold air blast supplied by either one of the. pipes 72, 73, effects thefinal sealing. As will be understood, the fiame is directed against the extremity of the tube, to close it by fusing the glass at that point. and in the meanwhile the air jet cools off the preheated portion adjacent to the tubular body. The cooling of this intermediate portion causes contraction of the contents at or near the tube end, which was previously freed from its excess of filling substance through the preheating. The tube being relieved-of internal pressure, the melting glass at the extremity last to be sealed is driven inwardly, owing to the external atmospheric pressure, and forms a practically solid stem, tightly closing the tube end and rendering it proof against leakage.

After the preheating and final sealingoperation, the filled tubes may be placed in some of the open-ended receivers 31, hereinbefore mentioned with reference to the filling and initial sealing. As indicated in --Patent of the United States, is

1. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including a blow pipe, a receptacle for the li uid adjacent thereto, and means serving to old a tube so that one end thereof will be immersed in the liquid while its other end lies in the path of discharge from said pipe.

.2. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including a blow pipe, and a receptacle for the liquid having a tube retaining means forming a part thereof, said means coacting with said receptacle in holding the lower end of the tube immersed therein at a point remote from said pipe and its upper end reclining against the latter in the path of its discharge.

An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including an air-pipe, a receptacle for the liquid disposed below the same, and a stop pertaining to said receptacle adapted to hold a tube inclined upwardly therefrom toward said pipe in such manner that the lower end of, the tube may be .immersed in the liquid while the upper end thereof is exposed to a current of air.

4. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including an air pipe, a guide associated therewith, a receptacle for the liquid adjacent to said pipe and its guide, and a stopserving to maintain the lower end of a tube immersed in said receptacle while the upper end thereof is received in said guide in position to be acted upon by the air issuing fromthe pipe. 7

5. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including a blow plpe, a. receptacle for the liquid, and an apertured cover for said receptacle capable of holding one end of a tube immersed in the liquid therein while therother tube end is exposed to the action of said pipe.

6; An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including a blow 1pc, a recep tacle for the liquid situated be ow said pipe adjacent to the same, and a cover for said receptacle formed with an opening, one ed e whereof constitutes an abutment for tie lower end of a tube to be filled, while the opposite extremity of the latter is acted upon by the discharge from said pipe.

7. An apparatus for fillin capillary tubes with 1i uid, including a blow ipe, oppositely disposed guides associated therewith receiting the upper ends of the tubes so as to exposethem to the dischar e from said pipe, means fog supplying the iquid to the tubes adapted to receive the lower ends thereof, and stops serving to position the latter with relation to said means and said guides.

8. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes with liquid, including a blow ipe, liquid holding means disposed below t e latter on either side thereof, and uides adapted to maintain the tubes with t eir opposite ends positioned in operative relation to said pipe and said holding means.

9. An apparatus for filling capillary tubes, including a receptacle for the filling substance, means for holding in roximity thereto one end of a tube to be Bed, and other means operating to apply air under pressure exteriorly outwards to the other end of said tube.

10. Apparatus for filling capillary tubes, a receptacle for the filling substance, means for reducing the pressure in the tubes, and means for holding the ends of each of said tubes in a definite predetermined osition with res ect to the receptacle and t e presd fi ling sure re ucing means during the operation.

WALTER GOODCHILD. [1,. 5.] 

